Santacruz-Chembur Link Road extension to open partially in February

According to a report by Mid-day, the MMRDA has assured the bench that part of the flyover from Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) to Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg junction and Hans Bhugra Junction to Ahmed Raza Chowk would be opened by the end of next month. (Representative Image: Intecc.com)

The Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) extension project will be open for vehicular movement by the end of February, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) said in response to a petition filed in the Bombay High Court.

According to a report by Mid-Day, the MMRDA has assured the bench that part of the flyover from Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) to Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg junction and Hans Bhugra Junction to Ahmed Raza Chowk would be opened by the end of next month.

The division bench, comprising  Acting Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep V Marne, has accepted this submission, according to its interim order passed on January 27.

The next hearing is scheduled to be held on March 8, the report said.

According to an official, while the first phase of the project—from the bus depot at Kurla to Vakola and Bandra Kurla Complex—will be opened soon, the second phase will connect to the Vakola flyover on the Western Express Highway (WEH) later.

According to the MMRDA reports, this will reduce the travel time by 15 to 20 minutes. The 3.8-km-long extension will cost around Rs 400 crore.

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According to another report by Times Now, since the first step, the project has met with several delays dragging it for over seven years. Mumbai-based activist Shakil Ahmed filed a PIL against the delay, encroachment and pollution caused by the project.